Livescribe Pen as a Special Education Resource/Tool

Description

The Livescribe is a pen that simultaneously records written information and sound. A scanner in the tip of the pen allows it to record and read hand-written text, while an audio recorder syncs that written work with whatever you say while using it. The pen uses special paper found in notebooks specifically designed for audio capture, using the basic “play, pause, stop” symbols commonly found on IPod and DVD systems. This paper can also be printed off using free software that comes with the pen. To see a video of the pen in use (and how you could potentially use it in the classroom) please see the YouTube tutorial I created: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hmbHeSIlk0.

Who is it for and why?

Livescribes have opened up new possibilities for dynamic classroom activities that engage oral and visual learners in particular. While the pen can be used for running records, audio tests/diagrams/flashcards, and learning centers, it has found a welcomed home in special education where it can be used to help children on I.E.Ps and those with specialized programming. The pen benefits a variety of students with different needs and exceptionalities, including those with learning/developmental disabilities, autism, language impairments, and giftedness. Students who need to hear instructions, sounds or particular verbal cues repeatedly benefit from this kind of technology. Check out these two videos of a school in Collier County Florida that actively uses the pen in their special education programs: http://blog.smartpen.com

http://www.livescribe.com/blog/collier

How can it be used?

The pen can be used for independent, classroom and resource activities. It is a versatile piece of technology in that it can be used one-on-one with a child (running records/DRA), in groups (learning centers/collaborative work/brainstorming) or in specialized programming (personalized audio lessons & anchor charts). With minimal training, students are also able to use the pen independently to record their own work, whether that be story writing or math computation. As a teacher tool, many educators also choose to use the pen to record assessments and keep their own daybooks organized and fluent. At the Brock Tech showcase I did a presentation on how the pen can be used in learning centers, the pencast of which you can watch here: http://lisamolnar.blogspot.ca/2012/01. I have also made a video on how to upload pencasts into your personal/classroom blogs: http://lisamolnar.blogspot.ca/2012/01/how-to

General Information & Spec Ed Ideas/Applications

The intersection between special education and the Livescribe are really only limited by your imagination. Personalized audio anchor charts, flashcards, diagrams and schedules that are interactive are really only the beginning. The special paper provided in the Livescribe notebook can be cut up and used to transform the classroom into one large interactive audio space. I recently presented at the DSBN Connect Conference in Niagara Falls on the pen and was pleased to speak to several Special Education teachers who were excited to try the pen in their own practice. One teacher and I discussed the compelling possibilities of labeling manipulatives bins, book boxes and other classroom resources with pre-recorded audio files, wherein students would then have to simply tap the pen around the room to navigate themselves orally. This means that audio scavenger-hunts are also a dynamic possibility, not to mention what the pen can also do for ESL learners. The pen can also slow-down and speed-up playback, further differentiating instruction and also allowing students to create unique and alternative voices for creative story writing. Additionally, the pen can be used to create agenda booklets complete with audio files, that parents can then listen to at home, whether this be a recording of their child doing work or a verbal note from the teacher. The pen also has Apps available for purchase and a piano feature that comes directly with the software, allowing students to draw their own keyboard and actually create different sounds and songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eoiOOfGxLY. This is particularly excellent tool for those Spec Ed students who are musically inclined and also proves to be incredibly cost effective, as it doesn’t require teachers to have an actual keyboard in their classroom. It should also be mentioned that all Livescribe files are easy to upload to your computer and do not require special software to watch. These files can be attached to any email and can even be viewed on Google doc, making student information easy to share with parents. Livescribe also makes special sticky notepaper you can purchase to further lesson possibilities and liven up gallery walks and banshos.

Who makes it/Where is it available?

The pen is made by a company of the same name and more information about it can be found on their website: http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/. You can the buy the pen from this website, or it can also be purchased at any Future Shop location. On the website pens start at $119.00 American for a 2GB ranging up to $179.00 for an 8GB. Future shop lists the 2BG pen at $129.00 Canadian and an 8GB at $219.00

Strengths/Weaknesses

I am a huge advocate of the pen and really believe that it should be included more in the classroom, as it benefits not only special educations students, but all those learning. It is an accessible, user-friendly tool that is cost-effective, durable and extremely useful. I have done a lot of work with it personally with autistic children and have had much success. This said, two of the children I have used it with have had difficulty speaking while they are using the pen, that is, they have tendency to draw a picture/write words and then explain its meaning/read it out loud. The pen is thus not a good fit for all special needs children or cases, and often is activity dependent. While some children benefit from the above kind of activity, others flourish more in lessons with the pen that are preplanned and have a lot of interactive audio already recorded on the page for them to engage with. As the Livescribe is such a new resource in schools, research and stats involving its use in Spec Ed classes are limited. Livescribe, in fact, is asking educators to submit their stories of how they use it in their classrooms so word can spread about its effectiveness as a teaching tool: http://www.livescribe.com/blog/education/2011/11/22/call-for-educators. Professional teacher blogs are a great source of information on how to use the pen as a special education resource. A simple Google search yields many new and exciting ways 21st century educators are using Livescribe in the classroom.  

F.A.T. City Workshop: How Difficult Can This Be?

At Brock I had the opportunity to watch this amazing video in my Special Education class. In the video, Spec Ed guru Richard Lavoie facilitates a program that allows viewers to experience frustration, anxiety and tension (F.A.T) similar to that which a child with a learning disability experiences in their daily lives. While this program was developed in 1989, it is still a fantastic resource and had a huge impact on my conceptions of what it means to be LD and the ways in which I, as an educator, can help my students with learning disabilities learn and grow. My Spec Ed teacher Sharron Stasuik not only showed our class the video, but also put us in the position of those in the workshop by pausing the film and allowing us to experience Lavoie’s exercises ourselves. We re-enacted several of the exercises in order to have a first hand experience with the challenges that come with being LD. One of these exercises involved looking at a picture that was difficult to perceive and trying to determine what the image was to give us an idea of what it feels to be a child with perception difficulties. Lavoie highlights how as teachers we often tell children who are struggling with perception to “look at the picture harder” or attempt to motivate them by bribing them with rewards. Lavoie explains that motivation only enables children to do the things that they are capable of doing and that what the LD child needs is an educator that, with direct instruction, teaches the child how to see and perceive.

Another exercise we did was one that allowed us to get an idea of what it feels like to have dsynomia, a word finding problem that happens to the LD child hundreds of times a day. We were instructed by both Lavoie and Sharron to contribute one sentence to a round robin story without using any words that contained the letter “N”. Needless to say, the exercise was very difficult because we were going through a process similar to the LD child where we were having difficulty retrieving the proper information from our storage and communicating it. It was embarrassing to be put on the spot and forced to articulate ideas immediately. I can only imagine what it feels like to experience this kind of anxiety everyday. As Lavoie explains, this round robin activity allowed all of us in the class to simultaneously have difficulty, while the real experience of being LD is being the only person that cannot do something. It would be extremely scary to be isolated in this position and Lavoie goes onto explain that it is in this way that we, as teachers, knock the risk-taking out of LD children at a young age as they are afraid to participate and contribute to the class. He explains that in order to be fair to everyone we have to treat the LD child differently. Fairness does not mean that everyone gets the same thing, but rather that everyone gets what they need.

I highly recommend this video to any educator as it is an eye-opening, interactive experience that will change the way you think and feel about learning disabilities and your own teaching practice. 

Order the video:http://ricklavoie.com/videos.html

Watch it online: http://digital.films.com

What are the leadership challenges to technology integration?

In our third and final leadership module with Dr. Camille Rutherford my class focused on those factors that inhibit tech integration in classrooms and discussed the ways in which we can meet these challenges and provide support of the intersection between technology and pedagogy.

After reading several articles about tech and education we collaboratively brainstormed potential solutions and also participated in a mock debate scenario where we professional dialogued about tech and its place in the classroom. Together we discussed the ways that we need to use our leadership skills to meet the challenges of tech integration.

While there are a variety of different kinds of factors that inhibit the successful implementation of tech in schools, these difficulties fall primarily into two categories, what I call, a lack of and a fear of. In terms of a lack, many schools experience little funding for appropriate technology. Financing tech integration can thus become a challenge to developing a useful 21^st century classroom. There is also a lack of training that often accompanies the introduction of new technology in schools, so that while the tools might exist and be present staff might not have the proper instruction or tech support that they need. In terms of fear, people naturally have a tendency to be afraid of the unknown and that which they do not have a great deal of experience with. Not everyone is a ‘digital native’ and many find the use of technology intimidating or uncomfortable. Technology also opens up the possibilities of greater information access, making some worry about issues of privacy. How can we, as 21^st century leaders, deal with these challenges and allow technology to be seen as a useful resource rather than something inaccessible or feared?

I would suggest that part of the reason why funding is an issue is because many are afraid of change and do not thoroughly understand why tech can be so useful in a learning environment. If we, as educators, can show those that provide funding how tech can be successfully incorporated into the classroom and why it has a positive impact on learning schools might have greater access to the tools that they need. We need to demonstrate how technology allows us to differentiate instruction for our students, accommodate their different learning styles and encourage them to think outside of the box in new and innovative ways.

Even if funding remains an issue there are ways that we can bring tech into the classroom without having a great deal of financial resources. In our workshop with Camille we discussed how many people are under the impression that you need to have the latest and greatest in terms of tech tools in the classroom, but this is simply not the case. A five year old iPod still successfully plays music and older computers still allow students to access basic programming like Microsoft word and Paint. There are tons of activities students can do with a basic word processor, including printing out fonts in different sizes and colours and making them into creative poems. As Ed Tech leaders, we need to bring in as much technology as we can into the classroom. Ask friends and family to donate old cameras they have sitting in drawers and organize tech charity drives. Explore cupboards in your school and bring out those old computers that have been tossed aside because they aren’t the newest on the market. Make a computer lab in your classroom and create a media center with the technology you do have.

In terms of calming people’s fears about technology, we need to ensure as tech leaders and educators that we aren’t aggressively pushing tech in a way that is only going to feed fear rather than squash it. We need to offer our peers and colleagues training and assistance without demanding their participation. Let’s show our colleagues how tech can be useful and wait for them to ask to be shown how to use the tools. We also need to ensure that we provide the opportunity for teachers to play with technology and discover its use value for themselves. We need to have PD opportunities where we can meet and voice our concerns and have fruitful discussions about the 21^st century classroom and what it can and should look like.

Issues of privacy and information storage (cloud systems, online info/photo databases, etc) need to be addressed. How do we use tech successfully whilst protecting our right to have private lives? Much of the resolution of this issue lays in training, that is, teaching people how to best navigate online tech resources in a way where they are getting the most out of their experience without jeopardizing their own privacy. How can we be smart about the ways in which we use tech tools? It is our job, as Ed tech leaders to provide training in this regard and help people make online decisions that work best for themselves and their own needs in the classroom.

As leaders we need to ensure that educators feel comfortable with the use of technology of, for and as pedagogy. We need to ensure that those factors that inhibit tech integration are collaboratively unpacked and addressed so that the 21^st century classroom can flourish without a lack of and fear of.  

Online Translation Manual – Elementary Applications

Prior to attending teacher’s college I did Anglo-Saxon translation work in both my undergrad and Master’s program. The following is a refereed online publication I wrote which is still in use in the Old English course at McMaster as an online teaching tool to help students learn how to translate old texts. I was fortunate to be able to present this learning object at a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2007, which has been a highlight of my educational career: http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/manual/index.php

While I am now working in the primary/junior field of education, the experience of writing and creating a learning tool of my own imagination has been foundational in my development as a teacher. I love creating learning objects, particular ones that involve the use and integration of technology. The Ed Tech program at Brock has given me a new range of tech experiences and skills that I will incorporate in my own classroom and teaching. I will continue to make learning objects and have had the opportunity this past year to create a collaborative Math Blog with my peers and also several instructional videos about how to use specific tech tools (all of which can be found on this blog).

One of my favourite aspects of teaching is the creativity involved with creating learning objects and lesson plans and critically thinking about how to best communicate and reach students. When I was planning the translation manual, for example, I had to determine how to most effectively communicate different kinds of grammar and inflections, giving my students the opportunity to play and practice the language themselves. I am excited to teach Language Arts and incorporate similar strategies and approaches in the classroom with a younger audience.

While the translation website is primarily intended for adults, there is an opportunity here for both myself and others to show elementary students what the English language used to look like and where are current syntax comes from. There is a section of the website called “Image Riddles” that is more child-friendly and can be used in a Language Arts or Social Studies context to teach junior students about different historical cultures. In grade 6, for example, when you discuss the Vikings and exploration you could incorporate a brief discussion of the Anglo-Saxons and their influence as well, perhaps having the students write their own image riddles about what they are learning in the classroom. While early medieval history is not specifically covered in the Ontario Curriculum there is an opportunity to show students how medieval history is not just about that specific period of time where there were knights, feudal relationships and the Crusades, giving them greater historical breadth and understanding. I am continually grateful for my past experiences in the realm of History and English and am excited about the ways in which I can use these ideas to enrich learning in my own classroom. I want to encourage my students to be invested in language and history and use these subjects as ways to investigate and navigate their own daily experiences.

How can individual leaders make a difference?

After discussing what it means to be a 21^st century educator and the ways in which we create 21^st century classrooms in our first leadership module with Dr. Camille Rutherford, my cohort participated in a second module that focused on how individual leaders can make a difference in the world of education. In order to begin a conversation about leadership and its relationship to learning we began by reading articles in leadership research which, in part, discussed the different kinds of leadership including transformational, moral, participative, managerial, postmodern, interpersonal and situational. Prior to this reading and our class discussions I was not aware of the variety of approaches to leadership and the different ways in which it is both interpreted and practiced. Part of our culminative task at the end of our workshop was to determine which leadership style most reflects our personal teaching philosophy and how we are going to implement this kind of leadership in our own classrooms. I am most aligned with the Moral Leadership approach that focuses on ethics, values, equity and justice. I believe it is a leader’s responsibility to bring people together and forge strong relationships that are based on cooperation, commitment and inclusivity. Leadership, for me, leads to teamwork and the cooperative building of positive communities in which to work and live; it is not about ego and the charismatic personality of one person with a group of automated, uncritical followers. As a result of my musings on leadership in this workshop I have developed a mission statement that articulates what I feel is most important about leadership and how I will actively practice it as an elementary educator:

As an Ed Tech Teacher Leader I seek to transform the lives of my students by creating a safe and inclusive space that nurtures curiosity and encourages exploration. The purpose of education is to create active and engaged global citizens and critical thinkers that are empathetic and invested in social justice.  I will use technology to facilitate new an innovative ways of communicating and creating meaningful ideas and shared visions. I will be determined and hopeful, collaborative and compassionate and I will take risks.

What are your thoughts on leadership? What kind of leader do you strive to be?

What Does the 21st Century Classroom Look Like?

As part of my Ed Tech training at Brock, I have recently completed a series of course modules with Dr. Camille Rutherford that focus specifically on the relationship between 21st century learning and leadership. In these workshops my peers and I have read a variety of academic articles and journals on what educational innovation means and how this will impact our teaching.

In our first module we focused specifically on what the 21st century classroom should look like from a variety of perspectives, that is, academic, technical, cultural and physical. Camille divided the class into four groups and assigned each group a different perspective from which to generate ideas. Each group posted their thoughts and contributions on a shared Google doc, resulting in a rich collaborative learning experience. Together we started to brainstorm what 21st century learning means to us and how it should be facilitated. From an academic perspective our class decided that 21st century learning needs to be challenging, differentiated, inquiry-based and involve both creative and critical thinking skills. In terms of technology, it should involve a variety of new tools, including but not limited to SMART boards, Front Row systems, IPads/IPods, blogs and LiveScribes. We also discussed that while these ‘techy tools’ facilitate learning in new ways, they are not the be and end all of education. 21st century learning is not about the tools itself, but rather about how we approach education in imaginative and creative ways. Culturally, for example, we discussed how innovative learning means creating a safe and comfortable environment for our students, a kind of “culture of care”. We need to make spaces that are founded on community, curiosity and the celebration of diversity. And how can these positive feelings be achieved in the classroom? What does this physical space look like? We came up with ideas that involve moveable tables that facilitate collaborative learning, open spaces with lots of light, decentralized rooms whereby the teacher is not the ‘sage on the stage’ at the front of the class. Others pointed to the possibilities of outdoor learning and the importance of field trips.

I was extremely impressed with the unique and creative ideas that my peers came up with and the way in which we were able to use a shared Google doc to collaborate. Prior to this year, I have never participated in this kind of instant collaborative learning. The fact that it’s possible for all of my peers to simultaneously create one document is fantastic, and while we happened to be in the same physical space as one another during this module, this work could have easily been done from the privacy of our homes, with shared discussions taking place over Skype, Google Hangout or an Elluminate session. I realized as we were creating the doc that we were participating in a new kind of 21st century learning that I couldn’t have imagined ten years ago. This process of collaborative creation is the heart of future education; this is what the 21st century classroom looks like.

Check out this video we watched in preparation for class. Speaks volumes about what needs to be done for our kids:

My First Day in the Classroom

Today, after learning about learning for several weeks I had my first opportunity to enter the classroom and actively see theory in action. I am completing my first practicum in a grade one class and couldn’t be more excited and enthused! Walking into the school this morning and meeting with staff and students felt like coming home. My experiences with the children today confirmed what I already knew about myself, that I simply belong in the classroom. Pedagogy is a passion of mine and I feel most fulfilled when I am engaging with students in a learning environment. I know I am going to be happy here and have a great learning experience of my own.

To briefly summarize my day, I first met with the principal, my peers and faculty advisor to discuss what placement will involve and the philosophies that the school values and upholds. This meeting made me realize that I am surrounded by positive and supportive people that will help enrich my experience and create solid foundations for my own teaching practice.

I spent most of the day balancing observing the class whilst taking copious notes and interacting with the students. I wanted to make sure that I introduced myself and made my presence felt. The children were very welcoming and I had the opportunity to read one on one with them, and also answer their questions as they came up during several of their lessons.
 
I am really impressed with how the grade one teacher has her classroom setup. There is good-sized carpet area in the corner for both reading and lesson instruction. There are also several “special literacy spots” designed into the architecture of the class. Students who read quietly on their own were rewarded and instructed to go either to the “fancy chair”, “reading tent” or “leaf shelter” in the room where they could enjoy extra comfort and luxury.

My associate teacher that I have been paired with was extremely supportive and I am thrilled to be working with her in the classroom. She is a Brock Alumni herself and I can already tell that I am going to learn so much from her. She enthusiastically welcomed me and told me that her grade one class is my classroom as well. It feels great to be in such a nurturing educational space.

I took two photos of the classroom this morning and will post more in future.
To conclude, I feel happy and grounded after my first day in practicum. It’s going to be a great year.

Transitioning from Student to Teacher

Having experienced a wonderful first week at the Brock Hamilton Campus, I find myself reflecting about my new position as a teacher candidate and what that means. I realize I am embarking on an incredibly exciting year that is going to be full of new experiences and challenges. This will be my last formal year enrolled in an educational program as a student. While I am dedicated to being a life-long learner and will always be improving on my skills and taking new classes to do such, this next year with my cohort represents the transition period from my role as a student to that of an educator. While I cannot imagine my life outside of a classroom, from now on I will be the administrator of that class and it will be my responsibility to ensure that my students are nurtured in a safe pedagogical space.

Despite this kind of role-reversal, I am interested in the ways in which I will always and forever be a student of the classroom. I am going to learn alongside my students who themselves will teach me valuable information about their lives and the world around them. Children have remarkable insight and tend to ground me in a way that no one else can. I need and want to learn from my students as much as they need to learn from me. In my primary/junior language class, Dean Pilkington talked about how it is important for teacher’s to be a “guide at the side” and not simply a “sage at the stage”. While I will be taking on this new role of authority figure and educator at the front of the classroom, I want to always ensure that I am also the “guide,” that is learning amongst and with my students on an everyday basis. While embarking on this exciting transitionary phase I believe its important to remember that I will always be a student and learning, and that likewise, students are always instructors in their own unique way. We are all learners and educators both in and outside the classroom.

I am curious as to how my peers feel about this transitionary period in their lives and am eager to hear the responses and personal reflections of other teacher candidates.